LASOON CHUTNEY (DRY GARLIC CHUTNEY) VADA PAO CHUTNEY

Lasoon Chutney (dry) (Vada Pao Chutney)
Ingredients
Garlic - 10 cloves
Dry Coconut -125 gms.
Red Chilli Powder - 2 tsps.(preferably use Kutilal or Coarse Chilli powder for better taste)
Oil -1 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Method
Grate dry coconut and then roast it on a tawa until light golden brown. Remove and keep aside to cool.
Peel garlic. Heat oil, add garlic cloves, cook for a minute. Leave aside to cool.
Combine garlic, dry roasted coconut, red chilli powder and salt.
Grind the mixture into a coarse powder. Lahsoon chutney is ready to serve.
TIP : This chutney keeps well in an airtight container and can be stored for more than a month in the deep freezer.

COCONUT CHUTNEY

CHUTNEYS
Coconut Chutney

Ingredients
2 cups of fresh coconut, shredded
3-4 green chillies
1 sprig curry leaves
A large pinch of hing (asoefetida)
A small ball of tamrind (size of a big marble)
Salt to taste
Oil – 1tbsp
Mustard seeds -1 tsp
Red chilly – 1 broken into 2 pieces.
Method
Add all the ingredients in a blender and blend into a smooth paste. The coconut should be ground until it releases the milk from the cocnut shreddings. If you don’t grind properly the taste wouldn’t be so good. In a small pan take some oil and pop the mustard seeds and red chilly as a seasoning for the chutney. This chutney goes well with idli, dosas, upma etc.

NEDAR AND HAAQ IN YAKNI - Lotus Roots and Spinach In a Yogurt Gravy

NEDAR AND HAAQ IN YAKNI - Lotus Roots and Spinach In a Yogurt Gravy
Nedar means Lotus Roots, Haaq means Spinach or Greens and Yakni means Yogurt.
Instead of using Spinach you can also use Kohlrabi leaves. Kohlrabi leaves also known in short as kohl greens is widely eaten in Kashmir.

What is Kohlrabi?

Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea Gongylodes Group) is a low, stout cultivar of the cabbage that will grow almost anywhere. The name comes from the German Kohl ("cabbage") plus Rabi ("turnip"), because the swollen stem resembles the latter.

Its origin in nature is the same as that of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts: They are all bred from, and the same species as, the wild mustard plant.

The Yogurt in this dish makes it bland, rich and tasty. Lotus Roots have a very high fibre content and Spinach of course as all of us know is very rich in Iron. Since Mustard oil is used mostly in Kashmir, if we use Mustard oil for this dish it will give a more authentic Kashmiri taste.

Ingredients
Lotus roots – 150 gms
Spinach – 1 bunch
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Grated Ginger – 1 tsp
Grated Garlic – ½ tsp
Dried Red chilies – 3-4 (Use Kashmiri Chillies which are less in spice and have a deep red color)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste
Oil - 2 tbsp.

Method
Wash the mud off the lotus roots thoroughly. Once it is nicely cleaned. Chop the roots into roundels, the roundels should be around 1 inch thick. Wash again, add a pinch of salt and pressure cook it till it becomes tender. Else u can also traditionally boil it in a vessel until it becomes tender. Once done, drain the water off the lotus roots and keep aside. The reason you have to cook the lotus roots separately is because, lotus roots are very tough and tend to take a long time to cook whereas Spinach gets cooked in a jiffy.

Clean and wash the Spinach and chop them into pieces and keep aside. Incase you are using the Leaves of the Kohlrabi, boil it separately till half tender.

Heat oil in a kadhai (wok), Add the grated ginger & garlic and fry for a minute. Add the red chillies and fry until plump. Add turmeric and salt. Add the yogurt and stir till it gets mixed well. Keep stirring continuously for 2-3 minutes. Now add the uncooked and chopped spinach or the half cooked Kohl greens. Cook for another 3-4 minutes.Now add the cooked lotus roots. Mix well.Cook till the gravy gets absorbed into the Nedar and Haaq. It should become dry, almost semisolid. At this point sprinkle ½ tsp of Garam Masala, Mix well. Stir for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from fire and serve hot with Chappati or rice.

SAMBHAR - Story of the South Indian curry

About South Indian Cuisine

South Indian cuisine according to me is the healthiest of all Indian Cuisines, since it is less in spices andvery light on the stomach.Rice is the staple food down south. Rice forms a majorpart of the meals. The meal is consumed by using the right hand fingers. A traditional full meal is served on a fresh banana leaf comprising of; Rice, followed by paruppu(lentils), servings of ghee which melt in the hot rice giving it that additional flavour and aroma. and with curries Sambhar, Rasam, Kulambu, Rasam - which also at times is consumed straight as anappetizer.3 types of vegetables i.e. a vegetable with gravy(kootu, aviyal, molaghutal, molaghusheyam etc), acurry (Mezhukku varatti, podutuval, poriyal, etc as itcalled by different names) and a patchadi (vegetablesin yogurt); Pickles (spicy and sweet, puli inji(tamrind ginger pickle)) and Pappadam (or Appalam),Paruppu vadai, also combined with sweets or chips orand a banana. After the curries (Sambhar, Rasam,Kulambu) are served, the Payasam (a sweet dessert madeof milk and rice/ vermicelli/lentils) is served beforethe yogurt. Payasam is also served in the beginning(it is believed that every meal should begin with a sweet, indicating sweet beginnings.)
Lastly, is the coolant which finishes the meal that is; the Yogurt or Thair. This is mixed with rice andeaten, all this is washed down with a glass of buttermilk (moru) All this makes a grand meal. A grand meal is never complete without the sweet dessert. Payasam is served at the beginning, before the yogurt is served and again in the end. People consume it according to their choice or at all times.
After the meal, paan or betel leaf & betelnut (vetelai & paku), which freshens the mouth and aids in digestion.

Hats off to the person who invented dosais, idlis, vadas and uttapams, Rice is combined with lentils to make these dishes. After soaking and grinding this into a fine paste, it is fermented; the fermentation process makes it easily digestible.
Chutneys are carefully prepared by grating coconut(only the white portion or tenga poo is grated, stop grating when it nears the cherattai or shell), this part of the coconut need not be wasted, it can be grated and stored in a dabba and used for grinding for cootu or aviyal. The recipe also contains tamarind, curry leaves, green chillies and coriander leaves and salt according to taste
Variations :- Peanuts (variation used for thickness and taste enhancer), Chana ka daali (pottu kadalai, (variation used forthickness and taste enhancer)).
Tip :- The tenga poo must be ground until it releases the coconut milk. Only then will the chutney taste very good.

The South Indian food is a brilliant blend of flavors, colours, seasoning, nutritional balance, fragrance, taste, and visual appeal. Did you know that?South Indian dals and curries are more soupy than North Indian dals and curries. Sambhars are prepared by blending lentils with tamarind, coconut and spices, garnished with coriander and curry leaves.

History of the SAMBHAR
environment.The genesis of this dish has an interesting tale linked to it.The Marathas were ruling Tanjore. Sambhoji was a great cook (male members please note this) and very fond of his amti with a handful of the kokum thrown in. The kokum is native to the western coastal regions ofsouthern India and is rarely seen beyond this area. Even in India it is used only in theEach state in the South prepares it with a typical variation, adapted to its taste and regional cuisinesof Gujarat and Maharashtra and several southern states where large glasses of kokum sherbet are downed during parched summer months. In this region the sweltering heat demands refrigerant (cooling) ingredients in food and drink. Kokum is well known to counteract the heat.Kokum is dark purple to black, sticky and with curled edges. The fruit is often halved and dried, so that the dried seeds are visible in their chambers like a citrus fruit. It is usually available as a dried rind, resembling a thick plum skin. When added to food it imparts a pink to purple colour and sweet/sour taste, a slightly sweet and sour aroma, a refreshing sour taste, slightly astringent. Anyways, coming back to our story, In a particular season the kokum that was imported from the Maratha homeland did not reach the bare larder of the king's kitchen. Sambhoji was cooking and the minions were shivering in their dhothis to tell him that his favourite dish could not be made that day. A smart Vidushak, who had been elected sous chef for the day, decided to solve the problem. He whispered in the king's ears that the locals used very little tamarind pulp to gain a better sourness to the curry and that Sambhoji should experiment with this variation. Voila, the dish with the tuvar dal, vegetables, spices and the tamarind pulp was cooked and served by the king to his coterie. The court declared the dish an outstanding preparation (they had no choice with the king as Chef) and thus was born sambhoji's amti that in time became sambhar.
The divide between the Tanjorians and the Pattars of Kerala was not more sharply delienated than in the making of the staple sambhar. The tanjorians were fearfully called easterners by the Kerala Iyers - they would not give their daughters in marriage to a Tanjore family for fear of ill treatment of their daughters but welcomed the Tanjore daughter-in-law as she could be depended upon to run the family with smartness and acumen - make the vettal kuzhambu(sambhar without paruppu (dal)) more frequently. The price of dal was prohibitive for an ordinary family making its living by rituals and temple largesse. So a spoonful of dal, the paruppu at the corner of your banana leaf was served, labelled auspicious, and the rice was eaten mixed with the tamarind pulp, spices and rice-powder-thickened kuzhambu. The tanjore maatponnu would not use much coconut as well. The kerala sambhar is usually garnished with slightly roasted coconut (tenga poo). Kerala cuisine is rich and a lot of nuts (grown abundantly in Kerala ) are used as a garnish for sweets and in their food as well.
The pitlai, another adaptation from the Maratha kitchen, was the festive dish as was the puli kuthinakoottu - the tamarind pulp added thick stew made with the ubiquitous white pumpkin, karela, yam, raw banana,avaraikka and pudalangai from the backyards of the village homes. The recipe was basically the same with sauteed chana dal, whole red chillies, dhania seeds, heeng and curry leaves with dessicated, roasted coconut ground on the stone and added to the vegetables. The variation was in the raw coconut or roasted coconut and choice of chana dal or urad dal that was ground to a paste and a few grains of til added. In this category the rasavangi (again the Maratha influence, vangi meaning brinjal in that language) also featured with the same basic spices but with the addition of soaked grams like kondai kadalai- the brown chana - or the karamani or chowri -black-eyed beans.
The non brahmins in Tanjore used a ready powder made from the same basic ingredients for their curries. They had one called malli powder which is a mix of red chilli and dhania seeds. The masala added powders were for their meat dishes. The canny Brahmins decided to adopt the powder concept especially when their scions and daughters migrated to Babu jobs in Chennaipattinam, Bombay and Pune and then further north to Delhi. They would make the masala powders and pack them for their children moving to greener pastures for better opportunities, the daughters-in-law were very young, in their early teens and wouldn’t know how to prepare the powder. The sambhar powder came into existence due to the lack of fresh coconut-remember again the Marathis and Gujratis used only Copra and not fresh coconut traditionally until our Nair landed with his excess baggage of coconuts. The Keralites cannot cook without a wee bit ofcoconut, be it sweet, savoury, curry, chutney, dry or wet veggies, tiffin or meals. So the sambhar moved to Kerala. It was taken by the migrant Pattars from Tanjore to Kerala.When the Travancore Maharaja invited the learned pundits to come to the Cheranaadu temples and live off the rice donations. The ground spice paste with coconut, roasted dhania seeds, chana dal, red chillies till today the base for sambhar in a Kerala home. The inclusion of the coconut milk in their cooking was an adapted taste from the local Namboodiris.

Karnataka : The Karnataka people have a unique concept. They make one dish with the coarsely ground paste of pepper,dhania and jeera seeds, red chilli, dal and coconut or copra and made into a vegetable stew. The curry is made quite watery and allowed to sit after cooking. The liquid that floats is ladled out and used as rasamandi the thick bottom portion of the curry is eaten as sambhar. I know that there may be strong objections to this tale but it is typical of the Mandayam and HebbarIyengars. The sambhar that they cook otherwise has a dash of cinnamon and clove added that gives it the special flavour-it is used in their famous Bisi Bela Huli baath. Authentic Bisi bela has only tuvar dal, rice, puli, spices and onions. The addition of vegetables is a later development.

Udipi /Manglorean : Udipi although a part of Karnataka has its own recipe for the sambhar. Can we ever forget the Udipi style sambhar? The taste of which most of the mumbaites are familiar with. The Shetty’s from Udipi and nearby Mangalore landed in their dhotis in commercial Mumbai started hotels(restaurants, cafes) and soon one restaurant branched into many restaurants and has donned the Mumbai landscape. You could give them some credit for making south Indian cuisine so famous and creating a taste for it among people of other communities also migrants in Mumbai, here to try their luck.
The Udipi style (Manglorean) style sambhar has aslightly sweet taste, sugar or jaggery is added to the usual sambhar recipe.

Andhra : The sambhar in Andhra is a Chennai export. They have a penchant for various dry and wet chutneys and powders followed by saaru or rasam. The pappu saaru (Sambhar) is their main curry which is made with either tuvar or moong dal, onions, tamarind pulp, red chilli and dhania powder, heeng and a seasoning of mustard and methi seeds and curry leaves. The curry is thick and after tomatoes entered the Indian culinary list some families add it to the basic saaru. Andhra is famous for its Guntur chillies, supposed tobe very very hot. Andhra sambhar is very spicy and sois their rasam. A lot of ghee is added to the rice tobeat the spice in the food. The sambhar powder has become extremely popular in many homes in Andhra Pradesh as well. As Shakespeare once said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.", same goes for the sambhar as well.
Whatever avatar it dons in the different states, nothing can beat the taste of sambhar. No matter how much of Tandoori / Punjabi or Chinese food we indulge in during the weekends, nothing can beat the hot rasam and beans curry our supermoms dish out on a hungry afternoon. Hope you’ll enjoyed the journey of sambhar, some parts are excerpts from an article which tells the story of sambhar.
I invite more stories from members so that we all can read and enjoy the different stories of how the sambhar evolved.
Hoping to enthuse you’ll with more culinary stories like this.

THE POTTER

THE POTTER
The Potter man who had just lost his job went over to a shop and with the last of his money decided to buy a beautiful teacup for his wife. On the display shelf, he saw the perfect cup and told the sales person to take it down, "I've never seen a cup so beautiful!" he said as she handed it to him and he paid the money. The man had tears as he handled the lovely cup but felt sad as he looked at his empty wallet. Suddenly the cup spoke: "I have not always been a tea-cup," it said, "there was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "don't do that. I don't like it! Let me alone", but he only smiled, and gently said; 'Not yet!!' "Then. WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick!', I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly; 'Not yet' He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then he put me in the oven." " I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. 'Help! Get me out of here!' I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, 'Not yet'. "When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! 'Ah, this is much better,' I thought. "But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Oh, please stop it, Stop it!!' I cried. He only shook his head and said. 'Not yet!'. "Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed I cried. I was convinced I would never make it, was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering what's he going to do to me next? "An hour later he handed me a mirror and said 'Look at yourself.' And I did,"I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!"'"Quietly he spoke: I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked." "'I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you."
The beautiful cup looked up at the man who had just lost his job, "So don't cry my friend. You are going through the shaping and heat and painting I went through. But when the potter stops you will be lovely to behold..! So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems awful and terrible, try this: Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your prettiest teacup, sit down and think on this story and then, have a little talk with the Potter (Ur Creator). He knows what He is doing and may just tell you: "Not yet..!"

KULCHA

KULCHA
Ingredients
Maida or Self Raising Flour- 2 cups
Baking powder - ½ tsp
Dry Yeast - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 teaspoons
Sesame seeds – 1-2 tbsps
Salt as required

Method
Dissolve the dry yeast in half a cup of warm water and keep in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes. Mix salt and oil with flour. Pour dissolved yeast mixture and mix into the dough. Use warm water to knead the dough.

Once you make the dough, Add a tablespoon of oil and mix well, so the dough becomes glazed with oil. Cover the dough with a wet cloth for around two hours. The dough will puff up and become almost double in volume. Now make equal sized balls apply a little oil if required. Roll into thick round chapattis. Brush on Sesame seeds to the top portion of the Kulcha. Apply water to the bottom portion of the kulcha and put the Kulcha on a Tava(Flat bottomed pan). Close with a lid and allow the Kulcha to puff up in a medium flame. You can use tongs to lift and check if the Kulcha is done or not. Once it is puffed up and done on the bottom side. Using tongs cook the top side on direct flame till the top turns light golden in color.

NAAN

NAAN
Naan is a very popular Indian bread served in most Indian Restaurants. People all over the world eat it with relish. The Naan is usually baked in a Tandoor which is a barrel shaped earthen oven. Coal is burnt at the bottom and heats the clay interiors. This makes the temperatures inside very hot, around 800 F. The Tandoors cook food at very high temperatures. It is impossible to have that high a temperature in a domestic oven. But for people who want to enjoy homemade Naans, you can cook it in a closed charcoal grill or in an Oven.

Eggs are usually used to soften the dough and make it more stretchy, Here is a recipe without eggs. One thing to remember is that if you are not using eggs you need to substitute it with equal amount of Yogurt in volume. If you don’t have good homemade yogurt available, substitute it with equal volume of buttermilk or whole-milk.

NAAN
Ingredients
Maida or Self Raising Flour- 2 cups
Baking powder - ½ tsp
Soda - ¼ tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Fresh Yeast - 1 tsp
Warm Milk - ¼ cup
Yogurt - ¼ cup
Oil or Ghee - 2 tbsp
Onion Seeds (Kalonji) – 1-2 tbsps as required(optional).

Method
In a Big bowl mix together 2 cups Maida, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp soda and 2 tbsp of oil or ghee.

In another small bowl, combine ¼ cup warm milk, ¼ cup Yogurt, dissolve 1 tsp sugar in it. Add 1 tsp fresh yeast and add this liquid to the flour mixture in the big bowl. Now mix all this together. Add warm water to make a very soft dough. Once you make the dough, Add a tablespoon of oil and mix well, so the dough becomes glazed with oil. Cover the dough with a wet cloth for around two hours. The dough will puff up and become almost double in volume.

Now make equal sized balls apply a little oil and put onion seeds on top. Roll it into a round shape. Stretch it from one side to give it a triangular shape like the ones you see in a restaurant.

Now put it on the wall of a preheated Tandoor or cook in a preheated oven (250 degrees Celsius) by placing it on a greased tray.

Remove when it is crisp and golden brown on both sides. Your Naan is ready to be served with any nice curry.

VARIATIONS TO THE PLAIN NAAN

BUTTER NAAN
Once the Naan is cooked. Add a dollop of butter to it. The butter will melt ans settle on top of the naan. Serve the Naan with the melted golden butter. That is your restaurant style butter Naan.

CHEESE NAAN (Naan with Mozarella Cheese)
When the Naan is almost done, remove it. Sprinkle it with grated cheese and put it back in the oven, till the cheese melts. Don’t add grated cheese to the uncooked naan as the cheese will cook very fast and the naan wont be done.

PANEER NAAN (Naan with cottage cheese)
When the Naan is almost done, remove it. Sprinkle it with crumbled or grated paneer and put it back in the oven, till the paneer and the naan get cooked.Don’t add the Paneer to the uncooked naan as it will cook very fast and the naan wont be done.

GARLIC NAAN
Chop the around 5-6 cloves of Garlic into fine pieces and mix it with some cooking oil and a pinch of salt. With a butter knife spread the mixture onto the unbaked naans, before putting it in the tandoor/oven. So when the Naan is cooked, the Garlic will also be cooked and when u serve it will stuck onto the top of the Naan, so you can easily identify which Naan it is, incase you are serving assorted breads.

PUDINA NAAN (Minty Naan)
Take fresh mint leaves and mix it with some oil and salt. You can chop the mint leaves or use them as a whole leaf. Apply the mixture to the Naan, in such a way that the leaves stick on to the upper side of the Naan. Apply it when it is half cooked else the leaves will get charred in the Tandoor / Oven.

DHANIYA NAAN (Coriander Naan)
Take fresh coriander leaves and mix it with some oil and salt. You can chop the coriander leaves or use them as a whole leaf. Apply the mixture to the Naan, in such a way that the leaves stick on to the upper side of the Naan. Apply it when it is half cooked else the leaves will get charred in the Tandoor / Oven.

Note: The Naan has to be always served hot, Once it is cold it becomes very chewy and hard.

ZUNKA

ZUNKA
Zunka is very similar to the Pitla. It is a drier version of the Pitla. Usually more oil is used for the Zunka as you need to cook it into a dry vegetable like consistency unlike the Pitla. This cant be mixed with rice but it has to be had with Chappati or Bhakri. You can add vegetables like Capsicum, Methi, Cabbage, Bottle gourd (Doodhi) etc to enhance the nutritive value of the Zunka.

Ingredients
Besan (Gram flour) – 1 cup
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Green Chillies – 2 finely chopped
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida – a pinch
Salt to taste
Curry leaves - 1 sprig (optional)
Coriander leaves for garnish
Oil – 2-3 tbsps

Method
Fry the besan in a little oil till it turns light brown. It should loose its raw smell. Keep aside.

Heat some oil and add the mustard seeds, once it starts to crackle, add the onions and fry till the onion becomes transparent and nicely fried. Add the curry leaves and fry for a minute.

In a bowl, Take the Besan, turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida and salt and mix it with water, to form a batter with a liquid consistency. This is a sure shot method of preparing a successful Zunka for beginners according to my mother-in-law. As when you make a batter, there won’t be lumps and it will be easier to handle the cooking. Once it simmers. Keep the gas on a low flame and allow the water to evaporate. Keep stirring rapidly so that the besan doesn’t stick to the pan. The mixture will start to separate and loose its water content and become dry. At this point Garnish with coriander leaves and stir for a minute or two.

The Zunka is usually served hot with Bhakris or chappatis (known also as Polis). On the right is one Happy meal that can please my husband YO, A hardcore Maharashtrian anytime.

VARIATIONS TO THE ZUNKA
This type of Zunka made with vegetables is called as Pith perleli Bhaji (Vegetable rolled in Flour).

METHI ZUNKA
You can take a cup of fresh Fenugreek (Methi) leaves or if you cant get fresh methi leaves You can alternatively use Kasoori Methi. To use Kasoori Methi, Take 2 tbsps of kasoori methi in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and add warm water and let it soak for 5-10 minutes. Then drain the water, The methi will be soft like fresh methi leaves now. After you add the onions and stir fry for a while, add the Kasoori methi or Fresh methi and stir fry. You will get lovely aroma of the methi. Follow the above method of the Zunka and serve hot with Bhakri or Chappati.

SPRING ONIONS ZUNKA
Take one cup of Spring onions (Pathi che Kande). When you are using Spring Onions, use the onions as well as the green leaves of the onions. Remove the skin and chop the spring onions into fine pieces and fry with the onions. The leaves of the spring onions must be washed thoroughly and chopped into fine pieces and used in the Zunka. Once the onions are fried, Add the finely chopped leaves of the spring onions and stir fry. And then follow the above method.

CAPSICUM ZUNKA
Take one cup of finely chopped Capsicum. Once the onions are transparent. Add the Capsicum and stir fry and follow the above method.

The change in the cooking comes when we use Cabbage(kobi), Bottle Gourd (Doodhi Bhopla).

Do also try my own innovative recipes of using Ridge Gourd(Dodka) and Raw Papaya Zunka.

CABBAGE ZUNKA
Take one cup of Shredded Cabbage.
Heat oil, then temper with mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Saute the onions, then add turmeric, chilli powder, cumin and coriander powder and salt and stir for a few seconds. Add the cabbage and stir fry. Cover with a lid and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes till the cabbage is tender. Cabbage cooks very fast. At this point, Add in the Besan and mix well. Saute gently on medium heat. The flour will absorb the Cabbage juice and cook. Do not add any extra water! Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

BOTTLE GOURD ZUNKA
Take one cup of peeled and grated Bottle gourd (Doodhi Bhopla) (dont grate very finely, use the grater with big holes, so u get thicker grates).and follow the method as in Cabbage Zunka. Allow the Besan to cook in the vegetable juice and cook. Do not add any extra water! Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

RIDGE GOURD ZUNKA*****
Take one cup of peeled and grated Ridge Gourd (Dodka) (dont grate very finely, use the grater with big holes, so u get thicker grates).and follow the method as in Cabbage Zunka. Allow the Besan to cook in the vegetable juice and cook. Do not add any extra water! Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

RAW PAPAYA ZUNKA*******
Take one cup of peeled and grated Raw Papaya (dont grate very finely, use the grater with big holes, so u get thicker grates).and follow the method as in Cabbage Zunka. Allow the Besan to cook in the vegetable juice and cook. Do not add any extra water! Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Please do try the Ridge Gourd and Raw Papaya Zunka. The Raw Papaya Zunka tastes absolutely divine. The taste compares to no other recipe.

Its my own innovative trial and I am sure you’ll will enjoy it too. Please do try the recipesand let me know.

AGAR AGAR (CHINA GRASS) HALWA

AGAR AGAR HALWA

Agar Agar is very good for health. This is a very light dessert and can be prepared easily and quickly and there is no tension of the halwa consistency not being proper for it to be cut into pieces like the traditional Halwa

(Refer to the recipe of Agar Agar Jelly in my blog to know how good agar agar is for your health)
Ingredients
China Grass – 1 cup
Sugar – 1 cup
Water – 3 cups
Cardamom Powder – 1 tsp
Ghee – for greasing the plate or containers
Chopped Pista, Cashews and Almond slivers for decoration.

Method
In a saucepan, boil 3 cups of Water, Wash the China grass in a colander to remove traces of preservatives. Add this to the boiling water, wait till it melts completely. At this point add the sugar and the cardamom powder and keep stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once it dissolves run a test

Test : Take some cold water in a small cup and add a teaspoon of the boiling agar agar syrup to it. If it stands means its done). Switch off the flame.

Take a deep plate and grease it with ghee, Pour the concoction. Once it is completely poures garnish with the dryfruits. Allow it to come to room temperature. Cool in the refrigerator (DO NOT PLACE IN DEEP FREEZER) for about an hour and cut it into squares or diamonds after it becomes solid and enjoy.

Serving Instructions
Pour the mixture into small ice cream cups or glass bowls leave it in the vessel itself.

Place the cups/bowls in the refrigerator, in about an hour, you can eat the halwa from the cups directly.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF LIFE

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR THE OVER 35 YEARS OLD :)[life span is unpredictable these days even a 25 yrs old is at risk of kicking the bucket:) ...] 1. Focus on enjoying people, not on indulging in or accumulating material things.2. Plan to spend whatever you have saved. You deserve to enjoy it and thefew healthy years you have left. Travel if you can afford it. Don't leaveanything for your children or loved ones to quarrel about. By leavinganything, you may even cause more trouble when you are gone.3. Live in the here and now, not in the yesterdays and tomorrows. It is onlytoday that you can handle. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow may not even happen.4. Enjoy your grandchildren (if you are above 60 and blessed with any) but don'tBE THEIR full time baby sitter. You have no moral obligation to take care of them.!Don't have any guilt about refusing to baby sit anyone's kids, includingyour own grandkids. Your parental obligation is to your children. After youhave raised them into responsible adults, your duties of child-rearing andbabysitting are finished. Let your children raise their own off-springs.5. Accept physical weakness, sickness and other physical pains. It is a partof the aging process. Enjoy whatever your health can allow.6. Enjoy what you are and what you have right now. Stop working hard forwhat you do not have. If you do not have them, it's probably too late.7. Just enjoy your life with your spouse, children, grandchildren andfriends. People, who truly love you, who love you for yourself, not for whatyou have. Anyone who loves you for what you have will just give you misery.8. Forgive and accept forgiveness. Forgive yourself and others. Enjoy peaceof mind and peace of soul.9. Befriend death. It's a natural part of the life cycle. Don't be afraid ofit. Death is the beginning of a new and better life. So, prepare yourselfnot for death but for a new life with the Almighty.
ALWAYS BE HAPPY AND KEEP SMILING